“There's nothing out there—”
“Then why are you here?” he cut her off, turning her way, startling her.
“Sir, I work with the Pecos Police Department and I’ve been in contact with Clara for quite some time—”
“Why?”
She licked her lips and shifted her stance, her legs widening, readying for a standoff. “That's not for me to say. Who are you again? I don't believe I got your name.”
“Does it matter? You're on my ground and you’re a fucking liar. You know what I am right?”
She visibly checked him out and her hands clenched at either side of her waist; the knuckles over her gun were white. “I don't care what you are. My job doesn't concern you. My job concerns the safety of the citizens in my jurisdiction.”
“But we’re not in your jurisdiction and I'm only going to ask you one more time. Why are you here?” Reid said slowly, deliberately.
“Sir—”
In a flash, he grabbed hold of the cop, locked her arms behind her back, and disarmed her of her weapons. Reid let her go. She scrambled back with a gasp and moved to defend herself, but it was too late.
Her gun and the bullets hit the ground at their feet as she spun to get inside her car. He slapped his hand against her door and stopped it from opening, leaving an indent in the middle.
“If this is how you want to play it, we’ll play it.”
“I don't think you understand that you just threatened a cop,” she said in a rush, and he could smell the fear waft between them.
She took a deep breath and he commended her for keeping her cool. “Look,” she said with a shaky breath. “I'm not here to cause problems, and Ms. Warren isn't answering her phone calls. If you allow me to speak to her, we can forget this exchange ever happened, and we’ll both go our separate ways.”
He towered over the woman and watched a single bead of sweat trickle from her hairline and over her forehead. She didn't smell sweet or delectable like Clara, but instead smelled of mint and cold steel, of thousands of hours burned out and wasted in a mediocre job.Easy. The tired are always easy.
Reid changed his demeanor, smiled, and nodded. It put her on edge. “Very well. I'll take you to her.”
He walked toward the building, giving his back to whoever was watching them outside the gate. He heard the cop’s footfalls behind him.
“Thank you... This won't take long.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” He let Marsha through the second barricade without a background check. “Clara is recovering from surgery.”
“She'swhat? Is she okay?”
“Yes, she's okay.”
“She hasn't been hurt, has she?”
“Not unless you count everything she's already been through.” He wondered how much Marsha knew about his breeder.
He glanced back at her. She tensed under his gaze and quickly looked back at the gate. Her movements twitched erratically, worsening with every step she furthered herself from it.
“Unless you count that...”
Reid held open the door to the reception. Marsha looked around with a shudder; her breath hitched. He made no move to enter and blocked the exit. When she got her fill of the quiet, cold place, she noticed she’d been trapped and turned back toward him. “This is a-a cybernetics facility.”
“Yes.”
Her mouth tightened into a straight line and a spark of judgment flashed over her eyes.
He continued, “Who's following you?”
Marsha startled but then stiffened. “I don't know you're talking about.”
